ECUADOR NEWS
&
WEATHER

January 6, 2018
Ecuador’s National Assembly today appointed María Alejandra Vicuña as the new vice president of the country, replacing Jorge Glas.
With the vote of 70 assembly members, out of 106 present at the plenary session, the Assembly chose Vicuña, who was the first of a list of three female candidates sent to the Legislative by the president of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno.
Vicuña is the second woman in the history of Ecuador to hold the position of vice president.

VICE PRESIDENT María Alejandra Vicuña
Vicuña, who is a clinical psychologist at the University of Guayaquil and has a master's degree in Business Administration, was born in Guayaquil on February 13, 1978.
She has more than ten years of experience in politics occupying different important positions.
In 2007, she was appointed Regional Human Talent Coordinator of the Internal Revenue Service. For the legislative elections of 2009 she obtained a seat as a national assemblyman representing Guayas by Alianza PAIS. In the 2013 elections, she was re-elected as an assembly member by the same party.
During her time in the National Assembly she was part of the Parliamentary Group for the Rights of Women and was coordinator of the Parliamentary Group for the Guarantee of Rights of Children and Adolescents. She was also vice president of the Permanent Specialized Commission on the Right to Health and sent from Ecuador to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In May 2017 she was named Minister of Urban Development and Housing by President Lenin Moreno. Her main work from the ministry has been the implementation of the "Casa para Todos" mission, which aims to build 325,000 homes throughout the country.
On October 4, 2017, through Executive Decree No. 176, she was appointed Constitutional Vice President of Ecuador, in charge, and at the same time she was the one who promoted the process of popular consultation.

DECEMBER 28, 2017

Election Council Referendum Vote on February 4, 2017February 4, 2018 Ecuadorians will vote on seven referendum questions President Lenin Moreno wants answered in the affirmative.Among the questions is one that, if approved, would reverse a constitutional amendment introduced by former president Rafael Correa that eliminated term limits for some elected officials, including the president.A yes vote would mean Correa would not be allowed to run again for president.

DECEMBER 18, 2017
Impeachment proceeding begin for Glas
Ecuador’s National Assembly has taken the first step to begin impeachment trial for Vice President Jorge Glas. Glas was convicted of corruption by the National Court and sentenced to six years in prison. Other charges against him are pending.

DECEMBER 14, 2017Vice President Jorge Glas sentenced to six years in prison after Wednesday’s verdict.A three-judge National Court of Justice tribunal sentenced Vice President Jorge Glas to six years in prison for his role in the Odebrecht corruption scandal. The sentence, announced is the maximum penalty for the crime of illicit association.
Also given a six-year sentence was Glas’ uncle, Ricardo Rivera, who the court said collected $14 million in bribes on Glas’ behalf.

JUNE - NOVEMBER 2017Federal Prosecutors in Ecuador Investigating corruption within the National government of Ecuador with outgoing President Correa, re-elected Vice President Jorge Glas along with numerous other government officials. Investigations uncover many years of bribes to government officials to contract with specific developers on major projects in Ecuador. In Manta, expanding the seaport, building of the new oil refinery and rebuilding of the old refinery north of Manta to name a few.

MAY 2017
Ecuador has a new President. President Lenin Moreno & Vice President Jorge Glas.

ECUADOR
· President Rafael Correa 2007 – 2017
Ecuador is about equal in area to Nevada
· 109,000 sq. mi
· Two high parallel ranges of the Andes, with the north & south are topped by tall volcanic peaks. The highest is Chimborazo at 20,577 ft.
· Quito is about 10,000 ft.
· is bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border with Brazil. The country also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland.Ecuador - 14.5 million
· 25 Provinces
Guayas – 3.6 million
· Guayaquil – 2.2 million
Pichincha – 2.5 million
· Quito – 1.6 million
Manabí – 1.3 million

· Manta – 350k (working city, mainly fishing and fish processing)
The country has three main geographic regions, plus an insular region in the Pacific Ocean:
· La Costa, or the coast, comprises the low-lying land in the western part of the country, including the Pacific coastline.
· La Sierra, ("the highlands") is the high-altitude belt running north-south along the center of the country, its mountainous terrain dominated by the Andes mountain range
· La Amazonía, also known as El Oriente ("the east"), comprises the Amazon rainforest areas in the eastern part of the country, accounting for just under half of the country's total surface area, though populated by less than 5% of the population
· The Región Insular is the region comprising the Galápagos Islands, some 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean

Currency (Presently - US Currency)
· Ecuador's monetary unit, the peso, was renamed Sucre (decree of March 22, 1884, effective April 1,).
· Following the financial banking crisis of 1999, the US dollar became legal tender in Ecuador on March 13, 2000 and Sucre notes ceased being legal tender on September 11. Sucre notes remained exchangeable at Banco Central until March 30, 2001 at 25,000 Sucre’s per dollar. Ecuador now only issues its own centavo coins.Banking and/or transferring money Out – 5%

Language
· Officially the Republic of Ecuador (Spanish: República del Ecuador literally translates as "Republic of the Equator")
· The main spoken language in Ecuador is Spanish (94% of the population). Languages of official use in native communities include Quichua, Shuar, and 11 other languages

Manta
· mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador
· second most populous city in the province
· fifth most populous in the country
· economically, the third most important city of Ecuador
· existed since Pre-Columbian times
· trading post for the Mantas
· the 2010 census, the city had 300,000 inhabitants
· main economic activity is tuna fishing
· economic activities include tourism and a chemical industry with products from cleaning supplies to oils and margarine.

Manta has an international cargo airport
Eloy Alfaro International Airport and an important military base (known as Manta Air Base or Eloy Alfaro Air Base)
Between 1999 -2009, Manta Air Base was used by U.S. air forces to support anti-narcotics military operations and surveillance flights against Colombian drug trafficking cartels. The lease was not renewed by the Ecuadorean government.

Montecristi is a town in the Manabí Province of Ecuador
The town is renowned for the production of Panama hats, the best quality of which is named Montecristi Superfino after it. Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name of their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin stuck, hence "Panama hats." When President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal construction, he wore such a hat, which increased its popularity known at the Panama hats

Montecristi Golf & Villas
Presently, 18 holes are open. Cost is $35 for 18 holes, includes golf cart. Rental clubs available, FREE
Montecristi Golf Club and Villas is located 8 miles east of Manta. Already under construction with a PAR 72, 18 hole golf course, the first in Manabí Province. This project includes a private subdivision of beautiful landscape blessed by the sea breeze and micro-climate of nearby Montecristi solitary coastal mountains. All build on 184 Hectares (454 Acres)

Economy Exports Gas is in Gallons NOT Liters
· Oil accounts for 40% of exports
· In the agricultural sector, major exporter of bananas (first place worldwide in production and export), flowers, and the eighth largest producer of cocoa. It is also significant the shrimp production, sugar cane, rice, cotton, corn, palm and coffee
· The country´s vast resources include large amounts of timber across the country; Pines and cedars are planted in the region of the Sierra, walnuts and rosemary, and balsa wood, on Guayas River Basin.
EquatorSAN ANTONIO DE PICHINCHA, Ecuador — Middle of the World, Earth’s midpoint — 0 degrees latitude, 0 minutes, 0 seconds.
· Except that it is not
· The Equator is hundreds of feet to the north
· The nearby land where the Equator runs is traversed by a ravine and that the ground there was not suitable to hold a monument, so the builders chose a different location
· The current monument, built in 1979, is almost 100 feet high, topped by a globe five feet across
· The builders believed they were placing the monument in the correct spot, except that measuring techniques at the time were not as accurate as they are today, so they were off by a few hundred feet
· The monument is about 800 feet, or more than two football fields, south of the Equator
· There are plans for a new monument that would stand exactly astride the Equator

WEATHERTemperature ~ Manta
(F to C) Deduct 32, then multiply by 5, then divide by 9; (C to F) multiply by 9, then divide by 5, then add 32
Year: Temperatures typically varies from 21°C (69.8 F) to 30°C (86 F) and is rarely below 19°C (66.2 F) or above 31°C (87.8 F).
Warm season: February 21 to May 21, average daily high temperature above 29°C (84.2 F). The hottest day of the year is May 4th, average high of 30°C (86 F) and low of 24°C (75.2 F).
Cold season: August 16th to November 10th, average daily high temperature below 27°C (80.6 F).

Sun ~ Manta
Length of the day does not vary substantially over the course of the year, staying within 11 minutes of 12 hours throughout. The shortest day is December 21st with 12:04 hours of daylight: the longest day is June 20th with 12:11 hours of daylight.
Earliest sunrise 6:03am on October 31st ; latest sunset 6:40pm on February 10th. Latest sunrise 6:34am on February 2nd ; earliest sunset 6:09pm on November 8th.
· Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed

Clouds ~ Manta
Cloudiest on January 22nd; clearest is April 20th. Clearer part begins around March 6th. The cloudier begins around May 28th.

Precipitation ~ Manta
Precipitation is most likely around February 9th, occurring in 43% of days. Precipitation is least likely around September 28th, occurring in 3% of days.
Probability of precipitation at some point in the day
Over the entire year, most common precipitation is light rain, moderate rain, and drizzle

Type of Precipitation throughout the Year ~ Manta
During the warm season, which lasts from February 21st to May 21st, 25% average chance precipitation observed at some point during the day.
During the cold season, which lasts from August 16th to November 10th, 4% average chance that precipitation observed at some point during a given day.

Humidity ~ Manta
The relative humidity typically ranges from 58% (mildly humid) to 95% (very humid) over the course of the year, rarely dropping below 48% (comfortable) and reaching as high as 100% (very humid).
The air is the driest around December 18th, relative humidity drops below 64% (mildly humid) three days out of four: mostly humid around March 10th, exceeding 92% (very humid) three days out of four.

For Retiree’s Over 65 Years Of Age, With A Residency/Living (Cedula) In Ecuador
BENEFITS
· Discounts on airfare purchased flights initiated from Ecuador to anywhere in the world.
· Discounts at local businesses throughout Ecuador to include movie theaters
To get the discounts you have to show your Cedula which will reflect your age
When property is in your name:
· Discount with all the municipal taxes (show Cedula)
· Discount with utilities (show Cedula)
· Special discounts regarding telecommunications
· In the banks & public businesses, no standing in general lines
· Reimbursed on your IVA tax (must have bank account for direct deposit); to include meals in a restaurant
To get the discounts you must show a notarized copy of your property Deed with your name to include a copy of your Cedula.